Not Just Parking Lots Anymore

AAMC HQ Renderings

As reported in the past, the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) has arranged a deal to purchase property from Douglas Development in the Mount Vernon Triangle to build a new headquarters office building. The parcel is on Square 451 and is bounded by 7th Street NW to the west, New York Ave NW to the north, K Street NW to the south while the east boundary is an alley. Several historically protected properties spread out along the K Street segment will be relocated to a cluster on K Street near the alley.

Until now we did not have renderings to display what AAMC has planned. Lydia DePillis of the City Paper tracked down four renderings from Shalom Baranes architectural firm. I’m displaying two below and encourage you to visit her link for the other two.

K Street elevation of AAMC; from Shalom Baranes (via WCP)

New York Ave elevation of AAMC; from Shalom Baranes (via WCP)

None of the renderings, even the extras in the City Paper post, show the incorporation of the historic properties. Overall this is a more interesting design than I expected from a non-profit entity. The facade treatment on the lower 3 stories of the structure has the potential to be good for restaurants and retail provided they don’t sign a tenant like Buddha Bar which would just permanently curtain over the windows and create a blank wall.

I’m not certain if I see an above-ground parking lot in the first picture but if I do, that is a concern. All parking for the building should be below-ground. Other than that I’m satisfied with the design and I too hope that the project moves along swiftly.

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Thais Austin has lived in the Mount Vernon Triangle since 2006 with her dog Davis. She is an active community volunteer with the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association, Mount Vernon Triangle CID, and with the DC Association of REALTORS. She brings to the blog a background in journalism, urban planning, and real estate and development. She is a REALTOR with Long and Foster, officing out of both Logan Circle and Bethesda Gateway locations and can be contacted at thais@lnf.com.